The Metropolitan Coach Lines (MCL) records document the expansion of motor coach service and the abandonment of most rail passenger service in Los Angeles. This collection contains records created by both MCL and the Asbury Rapid Transit System, a small, private transit company that grew to be MCL's biggest competitor before being acquired by MCL in 1954. Documenting a pivotal moment in Los Angeles history, the contracts, correspondence, publications, photos and other material contained in this collection directly reflect post-war Los Angeles' move away from a city and suburbs connected through rail lines, to a metropolis dominated by motor vehicles. The activity recorded in this collection significantly shaped the peculiar character of contemporary Los Angeles. The collection contains many items of particular interest and value including documentation of the sale of Pacific Electric Railway Company property to the MCL and contractual commitment to phasing out rail lines. Photos in this collection contain vivid images of the introduction of bus transportation to Los Angeles and the concomitant abandonment of the old rail lines.

Asbury Rapid Transit System (ARTS) was one of many small, privately owned transit ventures that had been operating in Los Angeles since the turn of the twentieth century. These companies competed with and complimented rail passenger service provided by the Pacific Electric Railway Company (PE) and the Los Angeles Railway Company (LARy) by providing bus linkages between rail suburban and interurban routes.

9 boxes 3.44 linear feet

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